Police: Intoxicated woman let 10-year-old grandson drive

Police: Intoxicated woman let 10-year-old grandson drive

After a late night of partying, Brenda Byrd and Sheila Joiner knew they had a few too many. So they asked a relative to drive them home.

The problem? The driver was Byrd’s 10-year-old grandson.

Kenner police found the boy behind the wheel after a caller reported a sport-utility vehicle swerving and moving slowly on westbound Interstate 10 shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Officers stopped the vehicle in the 1300 block of 31st Street after the driver took the Williams Boulevard exit and hit a curb while turning onto 31st Street.

Byrd, 54, and Joiner, 48, both of Kenner, told police that they were too drunk to drive so they asked Byrd’s 10-year-old grandson to take them home, said Sgt. Brian McGregor, a Kenner Police Department spokesman.

Police took Byrd and Joiner into custody and booked them with contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle, McGregor said.

The women remained jailed Wednesday afternoon. No bail was immediately set, McGregor said.

In addition to the 10-year-old who drove the SUV, a 15-year-old was also in the vehicle. McGregor said he was unsure of that passenger’s relationship to the women.

Both juveniles were placed in protective custody and later released to family members, McGregor said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call officer Joshua Davis at (504) 712-2222 or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.